Teacher's Crisis In India: 11 Lakh Untrained Teachers In Workforce

New Delhi: India is facing a humongous task of recruiting at least a million teachers both at primary and secondary level. The lack of teachers is not just unfair but also a violation of the Right to Education Act of 2009 which states that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

But is recruitment of teachers the complete solution to the problem? As pointed out by a recent report by World Bank, the world is facing a global learning crisis. While more children are going to schools now than ever, they are not learning much. The report highlighted that schooling and learning are different and schooling without learning is not just a wasted opportunity but also an injustice. 

In another report published by World Bank about managing teacher workforce in India, it was highlighted that approximately there are 1,30,000 single teacher schools in India. The report titled "Getting the Right Teachers into the Right Schools" throws light on the number of teachers in the workforce in both government and private schools and the educational qualification. 

Number and Quality of Teachers Depends Upon Policies

Education, in India, lies in the Concurrent list which basically means that both Centre and State government can make policies regarding education. Now, the teacher recruitment policies at both centre and state level affect the number and quality of teachers being recruited. 

The criteria for recruitment of teachers includes academic qualifications, performance in Teacher Eligibility Tests (TETs), age limit, reservation categories and quantum, language requirements etc. 

In India, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) determines the standards of teacher education. Currently, in accordance to the NCTE notification dated August 2, 2011, the minimum qualification for a teacher for class I to V is Senior Secondary and a two-year Diploma in Elementary Education. For class VI to VIII, minimum qualification required is graduation with a two-year Diploma in Elementary Education and for secondary level, the minimum requirement is graduate with B.Ed. or its equivalent. 

The Central Government, however, provided relaxation in teacher recruitment to such states which lacked teachers and had a shortage of such persons with the requisite qualification. In 2012, MHRD, had granted relaxation to recruit unqualified teachers given that all such recruits pass TET and complete their training within a specified period from the date of their appointment. 

Teacher's Crisis In India: Country Falls Short Of 1 Million School Teachers

These are the central policies. Apart from this, several states have their own legislation regarding teacher recruitment. For example in Odisha, a candidate needs to have only a higher secondary degree to become a teacher for primary classes. 

Untrained Teachers In Workforce

After the RTE Act 2009, the government had given time till 2015 to all untrained teachers in the workforce to complete teacher training bill. However, many teachers still remained untrained. As a consequence, an amendment bill was passed. According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017, untrained teachers teaching students of class 1 to 8 under 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan' will now get time till 2019 to complete their teachers training. 

As per the amendment, such teachers will need to complete Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course by 2019. Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) programme is a specifically designed package for in-service untrained teachers working in primary/ upper primary schools of different states of the country. 

Teacher's Crisis In India: 1 Lakh Single Teacher Schools In Country; Special Educators Still A Rarity

While the amendment has been passed so as to not drive teachers already teaching out of their jobs, it also points out to the stark reality that about 11 lakh teachers currently teaching in schools, as informed by Prakash Javadekar, are not properly trained. 

So it is not just recruitment which needs to be on the priority list but also a proper set up for teacher training in the coming years so as to avoid any future crisis of untrained teachers. 

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